Stone film says U.S. demonises Chavez, other leaders

Director Oliver Stone says the U.S. media and government have demonised Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other leftist South American leaders, and argues in a new film that they were right to stand up to Washington.

Chavez in particular has earned a reputation for his outspoken criticism of U.S. policy, and in Stone’s documentary “South of the Border” he is sympathetically portrayed as a hero of the people who refuses to be bullied.

Originally an attempt to redress what Stone saw as unfair treatment of Chavez by broadcasters and newspapers, South of the Border turned into a bigger project and included interviews not only with Chavez but with six other presidents in the region.

“I think the movie, if you’ve seen it, shows very clearly the level of stupidity in the kind of broad statements that are made about Mr. Chavez,” Stone told reporters in Venice, where South of the Border has its world premiere on Monday.